Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal care but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Christine Marie Mason, Founder of Rosebud Woman, located in Mill Valley, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We're in the business of helping women to love their bodies through all stages of the lifecycle. We create luxe, clean, intimate wellness formulations- V-care, body care, ingestible- and lifestyle offerings to inspire a more reverent way of living. I have a lot of customers in midlife who are looking to have a great experience of peri-menopause and menopause, as well as moms-to-be and new moms- and many women and couples who just want a more reverent sensual experience together. Everything we do is super green, OBGYN-approved, and backed by science. It's led us to receive many awards and to being sold in top retailers, such as Saks, as well as in physicians offices and clean beauty outlets.
Tell us about yourself
Like many founders, I was driven by my own need as well as the things that bring me joy. Intimacy, happy skin, trust in nature, the elimination of body shame - all this lived in me before I formulated my first product. The instinct to do it is supported by research of all kinds, into people's needs and into creating better offerings than were available before us. I'm motivated by positive feedback from our community on how we solved problems they were having for years- by helping people and creating beauty.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
When we launched, you couldn't speak to women's intimate wellness on social media without getting censored. Basically, we created a new category in body care and skin care. Over the last few years, we have even succeeded in getting a global change to Meta's policies implemented to allow this category worldwide. This is an immense win for health and wellness. The other thing is having a huge portion of our monthly sales on subscriptions- this means women are using the products and loving them. Finally, our podcast and blogs. We get a lot of feedback on how helpful and eye-opening the topics and the guests are.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Well, it's always something, isn't it? We launched and immediately hit a pandemic; we've dealt with censorship, iOs changes, production issues, a recession, and customers who ordered 6 months of product and then filed for chapter 11, trolls. I mean, that's why they call it work, right? The team is incredibly committed and resilient, and we LOVE what we are doing. You have to just prepare yourself - there will always be surprises.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Know you're why- it will sustain you when things get hard.
- Dial in the economics to ensure that the cost to acquire a new customer isn't higher than your revenues or that you're capitalized through a period where it's not that way.
- Find a few great multi-talented people who can jump in and pull with you. Five or six committed people working together can do anything.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://rosewoman.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RosebudWoman/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rosebudwoman/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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